Early life

Norton was an outstanding athlete at Jacksonville High School. He was selected to the all-state team football team on defense as a senior in 1960. His track coach entered him in eight events, and Norton placed first in seven of them. As a result, the "Ken Norton Rule", which limits participation of an athlete to a maximum of four track and field events, was instituted in Illinois high school sports. After graduating from high school, Norton went to Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) on a football scholarship and studied elementary education.[2] In an interview with ESPN Fitness Magazine in 1985, Norton said that he would have become a teacher or a policeman if he had not taken up boxing.[3]

Amateur career

Norton went into the Marines in 1963, after he leaving school. Norton started boxing when he was in the United States Marine Corps from 1963 to 1967, compiling a 24–2 record en route to three All-Marine Heavyweight titles. In time, he became the best boxer to ever fight for the Marines, and was awarded the North Carolina AAU Golden Gloves, International AAU and Pan American titles.[4][5][6] Following the National AAU finals in 1967, he turned professional.

Professional career

Norton built up a steady string of wins, some against journeyman fighters and others over fringe contenders like the giant Jack O'Halloran. He was learning and improving. But he suffered a surprise defeat, ironically just after The Ring magazine had profiled him as a prospect, at the hands of heavy hitting Venezuelan boxer Jose Luis Garcia in 1970. It was justifiably Garcia's career peak. But Garcia was overpowered, both then as rated contenders, in their rematch five years later.

Norton was given the motivational book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill,[7][8][9] which, as he states in his autobiography, Going the Distance, changed his life.[10] Shortly before he died, Norton stated "Think and Grow Rich changed my life dramatically. I was going to fight Muhammad Ali. I was a green fighter, but yet I won, all through reading this book."[11] Upon reading Think and Grow Rich, he went on a 14-fight winning streak, including the shocking victory noted above over Muhammad Ali in 1973 to win the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight champion title.[12][13] To quote Norton from his autobiography noted above, "These words (from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich) were the final inspiration in my victory over Ali: Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can."[14] Norton also took a complete course by Napoleon Hill on gaining wealth and peace of mind. "It can be related to anybody, to be the best in a career, to think positive", said Norton.[15]

An article which appeared in The Southeast Missourian[16] discussed that Norton credited Napoleon Hill's philosophy for his success. To quote from the article, "Norton says he's a believer in Napoleon Hill's philosophy, that a person can do anything he puts his mind to. 'So I train for my fights,' he says, 'mentally as well as physically. One thing I do is only watch films of the fights in which I've done well or in which my opponent has done poorly.'"

Norton once said, "In boxing, and in all of life, nobody should ever stop learning!"[17]

Norton vs. Ali I, II

'Name' opponents were elusive in Norton's early career. His first big break came with a clear win over respected contender Henry Clark. This helped get him his world recognition break when Ali agreed to a match. Joe Frazier, who'd sparred with Norton, presciently said of Ali, "He'll have plenty of trouble!" Though both were top boxers in the mid 1970s, Norton and Frazier never fought each other, in part because they shared the same trainer, Eddie Futch, and also because they were friends.[18]

For the first match, on March 31, 1973, Muhammad Ali entered the ring at the San Diego Sports Arena[19] wearing a robe given to him by Elvis Presley as a 5–1 favorite versus Ken Norton, then rated a number 6 world contender[20] in a bout televised by ABC's Wide World of Sports.[21] Norton won a 12-round split decision over Ali in his adopted hometown of San Diego to win the NABF heavyweight title.[13] In this bout, Norton broke Ali's jaw (he maintains in round eleven, though Angelo Dundee said it was earlier), leading to only the second defeat for "The Greatest" in his career. (Ali's only previous loss was to Joe Frazier, and Ali would later go on to defeat George Foreman to regain the heavyweight title in 1974.)

Almost six months later at The Forum in Inglewood, California, on September 10, 1973, Ali avenged the Norton loss but only after he got the return by a split decision.[22] Norton weighed in at 205 lbs (5 pounds lighter than his first match with Ali) and some boxing writers suggested that his preparation was too intense and that perhaps he had overtrained. There were some furious exchanges in this hard-fought battle. From Ali's point of view, a loss here would have seriously dented his claim of ever being "The Greatest." During the ABC broadcast of the fight, broadcaster (and Ali confidant and friend) Howard Cosell repeatedly told viewers a dancing and jabbing Ali was dominating the action despite Norton's constant offense and Ali's inability to penetrate Norton's awkward defensive style. The close and controversial scoring was in stark contrast to Cosell's fight-long insistence that Ali had matters well in hand.

Norton vs. Foreman and Norton vs. Quarry

In 1974, Norton fought George Foreman for the world heavyweight championship and was knocked out in the second round at the Poliedro de Caracas in Caracas, Venezuela. After an even first round, Foreman staggered Norton with an uppercut a minute into round two, pushing him into the ropes. Norton did not hit the canvas, but continued on wobbly legs, clearly not having recovered, and shortly he went down a further two times in quick succession, with the referee intervening and stopping the fight. This fight would become known as the "Caracas Caper".

In 1975, Norton regained the NABF heavyweight title when he impressively defeated Jerry Quarry by TKO in the fifth round. Norton then avenged his 1970 loss to Jose Luis Garcia by decisively knocking out Garcia in round five.

Norton vs. Ali III

Norton in 1976

On September 28, 1976, at Yankee Stadium in New York City, Norton fought his third and final bout against Ali,[22] who was now the world heavyweight champion, having regained the title with an eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in 1974. Many observers have felt this fight marked the beginning of Ali's decline as a boxer. It was a tough bruising battle for Ali. In one of the most disputed fights in history, the fight was even on the judges' scorecards going into the final round, which Ali won on both the referee's and judges' scorecards to retain the world heavyweight championship. The judges scored the bout 8–7 for Ali, and the referee scored it 8–6 for Ali. At the end of the last round, the commentator announced he would be "very surprised" if Norton has not won the fight.[23]

At the time of the third Ali-Norton bout, the last time a heavyweight champion had lost the title by decision was Max Baer to Jim Braddock 41 years earlier, and Ali-Norton III did not break this established pattern. The January 1998 issue of Boxing Monthly listed Ali-Norton as the fifth most disputed title fight decision in boxing history. The unofficial United Press International scorecard was 8–7 for Norton, and the unofficial Associated Press scorecards were 9–6 for Ali (Ed Schuyler), and 8–7 Norton (Wick Temple)..

Despite obtaining a victory, Ali received a pounding. His tactics were to try to push Norton back, but they had failed. He'd refused to 'dance' until the 9th when in sheer desperation, although the crowd roared its appreciation. Norton has said the third fight with Ali was the last boxing match for which he was fully motivated, owing to his disappointment at having lost a fight he believed he had clearly won.

Aftermath: Norton becomes champion & Young match

1977 was a career year for Norton. He knocked out previously unbeaten top prospect Duane Bobick in just one round, then dispatched European title holder Lorenzo Zanon in a 'tune-up' fight. Light-hitting but fast, Zanon was actually well ahead until a burst of heavy punches put him down and out.

Norton then defeated polished number two contender Jimmy Young (who himself had beaten George Foreman and Ron Lyle) via 15-round split decision in a WBC title-elimination bout, with the winner to face reigning WBC champion Ali. (However, Ali's camp told Ring Magazine they did not want to fight Norton for a fourth time.) Both boxers fought a smart fight, with Norton using a heavy body attack whilst Young moved well and countered. The decision was controversial, with many observers thinking Young had done enough to win.

Although Norton was expected to face Ali for a fourth time, to fight for the WBC heavyweight championship, plans changed due to Ali's loss of his title to Leon Spinks on February 15, 1978. The WBC then ordered a match between the new champion and Norton, its number one contender. Spinks however, chose to face Ali in his first title defence, instead of facing Norton.[24][25] The WBC responded on March 18, 1978, by retroactively giving title fight status to Norton's victory over Young the year before and awarded Norton their championship, which split the heavyweight championship for the first time since Jimmy Ellis and Joe Frazier were both recognized as champions in the early 1970s.[4][26]

Larry Holmes title fight

In his first defense of the WBC title on June 9, 1978, Norton and new number one contender Larry Holmes met in a classic fight. After 15 brutal rounds, Holmes was awarded the title via an extremely close split decision. Two of the three judges scored the fight 143–142 for Holmes while the third scored the bout 143–142 for Norton.[27] The Associated Press scored it 143–142 for Norton.[28] The March 2001 edition of The Ring magazine listed the final round of the Holmes-Norton bout as the 7th most exciting round in boxing history and International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) member Monte D. Cox ranked the bout as the tenth greatest heavyweight fight of all time. Holmes went on to become the third-longest reigning world heavyweight champion in the history of boxing, behind Joe Louis and Wladimir Klitschko. Years later, Holmes wrote that the bout was his toughest fight of all his seventy-five contests.

Retirement looms

After losing to Holmes, Norton won his next fight by knockout over sixth-ranked Randy Stephens in 1978[29] before taking on Earnie Shavers in another compulsory WBC title eliminator fight in Las Vegas on March 23, 1979. For the first time it appeared that Norton's career had perhaps hit a decline, particularly after the Holmes match[30] as Shavers took the former champion out in the first round. But it also created a view that his confidence wasn't good against all-time great hitters Foreman, Shavers and later Cooney. However Norton himself always denied this and he was past his prime when he was stopped by Shavers and Cooney.[31][32]

In his next fight, he fought to a split draw with unheralded but durable lower ranked contender Scott LeDoux at the Met Center in Minneapolis. Norton dominated until sustaining an injury when he took a thumb in the eye in the eighth round, which immediately changed the bout. LeDoux rallied from that point and Norton became decidedly fatigued. Norton was down two times in the final round, resulting in the draw; Norton fell behind on one scorecard, kept his lead on the second, and dropped to even on the third (the unofficial AP scorecard was 5–3–2 Norton).[33]

After the fight, Norton decided that at 37 it was time to retire from boxing.[34] However, not satisfied with the way he had gone out, Norton returned to the ring to face the undefeated Randall "Tex" Cobb in Cobb's home state of Texas on November 7, 1980. In an all action back-and-forth fight, Norton escaped with a split decision, with referee Tony Perez and judge Chuck Hassett voting in his favor and judge Arlen Bynum giving the fight to Cobb.

The win over the title-contending Cobb gave Norton another shot at a potential title-fight, and on May 11, 1981. at Madison Square Garden he stepped into the ring with top contender Gerry Cooney, who, like Cobb, was undefeated entering the fight. Very early in the fight it became clear that Norton was no longer the caliber of fighter he once was, as Cooney's first punch caused Norton's legs to buckle. Norton continued to take shots from Cooney in his corner for nearly a full minute before Perez, who was refereeing his final fight, stepped in to stop the fight fifty-four seconds in to the first round, as Norton was slumped in his corner. Norton decided to retire following the match and turned his attention to charitable pursuits.[35]

Norton was a forward-pressing fighter who was notable for his unusual stance characterized by the cross arm defense. In this stance the left arm is positioned low across the torso with the right hand up by the right or left ear. When under heavy pressure both arms were brought up high across at face level whilst one leaned forward, leaving little . The guard was also used by boxers Archie Moore and Tim Witherspoon, as well as George Foreman during his famous comeback years and by Joe Frazier in parts of his third fight with Muhammad Ali. Norton would bob and weave from a crouch, firing well placed heavy punches. Norton was best when advancing. He'd drag or slide the right foot along from behind. By comparison, most conventional boxers have elbows in at the torso with forearms vertically parallel to each another, the gloves then being both near sides of the face. Most trainers believe the conventional style is a better defense and that the cross-arm style leaves the user open far too often.

Angelo Dundee wrote[where?] that Norton's best punch was the left hook. Many others lauded his infamous overhand right. In a Ring Magazine article, Norton himself said that a right uppercut to Jerry Quarry was the hardest blow he recalled landing.

Awards and recognitions

Norton is a 1989 inductee of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, a 1992 inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame,[36] a 2004 inductee into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame,[4] and a 2008 inductee into the World Boxing Council Hall of Fame.

The 1998 holiday issue of The Ring ranked Norton #22 among "The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time." Norton received the Boxing Writers Association of America J. Niel trophy for "Fighter of the Year" in 1977.

Norton, a proponent of motivational author Napoleon Hill's writings [37] (e.g. Think and Grow Rich[12][38] as noted above and Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude[25] by Hill and W. Clement Stone) also received the "Napoleon Hill Award" for positive thinking in 1973.[10]

In 2001, Norton was inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.[39] Norton was also inducted into the Marine Corps Hall of Fame in 2004 and into the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.[40]

Later media career

In 1975, at the peak of his boxing career, Norton made his acting debut starring in Dino De Laurentiisblaxploitation film Mandingo, about a pre-Civil War slave purchased to fight other slaves for their master's entertainment. After starring in the 1976 sequel Drum Norton went on to play bit parts in a dozen other productions.[41]

Norton worked as an actor and TV boxing commentator following his retirement from boxing. He also was a member of the Sports Illustrated Speakers Bureau and started the Ken Norton Management Co., which represented athletes in contract negotiations.

Norton continued making TV, radio and public speaking appearances until suffering injuries in a near-fatal car accident in 1986 which left him with slow and slurred speech.[38][42][43]

He appeared along with Ali, Foreman, Frazier and Holmes in a video, Champions Forever, discussing their best times, and in 2000 he published his autobiography, Going the Distance.

Personal life

Norton in 2010

Norton was married three times and had four children. Norton married Jeannette Henderson in 1966, while still in the Marines. The marriage lasted until 1968 and produced football player and coach Ken Norton Jr.. In 1977 he married Jacqueline 'Jacquie' Halton, who gave birth to sports anchor Keith Norton, daughter Kenisha Eronda (1976) and son KeneJon (1981) before Jacquie and Ken divorced in 2000. Around 2012 he married Rose Marie Conant who was his constant companion until his death.[44][45][46]

Ken Norton was twice voted "Father of the Year" by the Los Angeles Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times in 1977.[38][47] To quote Norton from his biography, Believe: Journey From Jacksonville: "Of all the titles that I've been privileged to have, the title of 'dad' has always been the best."[38]

His first son, Ken Norton Jr, played football at UCLA and had a long successful career in the NFL. In tribute to his father's boxing career, Ken Jr. would strike a boxing stance in the end zone each time he scored a defensive touchdown and throw a punching combination at the goalpost pad. Ken Jr. was a member of three Super Bowl Champion teams as a player and one as an assistant coach. He later became the linebackers' coach for the Seattle Seahawks and the USC Trojans, both under head coach Pete Carroll and formerly worked as the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. He is currently the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.

Ken Norton's son Keith Norton was once the weekend sports anchor for KPRC in Houston, Texas.[48] He followed his father in serving in the Marine Corps.[49]

Death

Norton died at a care facility in Las Vegas on September 18, 2013.[50] He was 70 years old and had suffered a series of strokes in later life.[51] Across the boxing world tributes were paid, with George Foreman calling him "the fairest of them all" and Larry Holmes saying that he "will be incredibly missed in the boxing world and by many".[52]